REPORT ON MEETING OF SHAP LOCAL HISTORY SOCIETY HELD ON MONDAY 27 th MARCH 2006.

When Shap Local History Society met for their March meeting they were welcomed by Vice Chairman Jean Scott-Smith; who introduced the guest speaker Anton Hodge. Mr Hodge hails from over the Border, he studied Classics and Ancient History at university, and developed an interest in the Roman Wall, the subject of his talk..

Mr Hodge began by describing the various periods of Roman activity; the earliest chronicled events were in 5 BC when Julius Caesar visited the south of Britain. In 43 AD Claudius settled the south-east, and in 70 AD the north began to be occupied. The Roman town of Luguvallium, now known as Carlisle was an important centre, and a road called the Stanegate was constructed to link it with Corbridge. Vindolanda is also a fort on the Stanegate and predates the wall.

It was not until 122 AD that the Emperor Hadrian decreed that a wall be built from the Tyne to the Solway; frontier walls also were built in Germany and Belgium. Mr Hodge used slides to illustrate features of the wall. This boundary was build by three Legions over a period of five to eight years, quite a feat. The construction consists of the wall itself, with ditches at each side and a military way was built for ease of travel. There were mile castles every Roman mile with turrets between to provide shelter. These features were in effect a military zone, manned by auxiliary troops named after the areas they originated from, and locals were later included. The wall was constructed of stone between Wallsend and Birdoswald near Gilsland, and from there to Bowness on Solway it was of turf, however stone later replaced some sections.

Forts were constructed on the south side of the wall, and civilian towns known a vici sprung up close to these, and this appears to have been an amicable arrangement. The largest fort on the whole wall was at Stanwix, this housed troops and cavalry, nothing now survives as the site is now occupied by the Art College.

Mr Hodge had walked the length of the wall, and showed slides of the eastern extreme of the wall on the site of the Swan Hunter shipyard; here signs are in English and Latin! He explained that only about one per cent of the wall is original building, as there have been so many repairs carried out over the centuries, the wall also suffered by being used as a quarry for building stone and many older houses in the vicinity have Roman masonry incorporated in them. A large section of the wall was destroyed by General wades army during the Jacobite rebellion when he built a wall towards Carlisle and used the wall for the road construction. There were some stunning shots of the Loughs that lie to the north of the wall. The most westerly part of the wall visible today is on Bitts Park, Carlisle, as it seems the Carlisle canal was constructed on the line of the wall, and nothing can be discerned farther west.

There was an opportunity for questions, and Mr Hodge was thanked by Chairman Jean Jackson. Some members later expressed disappointment at the lack of pictures of the familiar forts at Housesteads and Chesters.

On Monday 24 th April the Annual General Meeting will be held, when a short business meeting will be followed by a talk on the Yew Trees of Cumbria by Ken Mills.